Faith, Tradition, and Fear of God

• In the name of God
• A plea to save from thoughts of Israel

Goals of Studying Faith According to Saadia Gaon

• To prove the correctness of tradition
• To know what to answer to heretics

Definition of Faith According to Different Scholars

• Albo: Faith must be as clear as if a person saw it with their own eyes.
• Maladi: Faith is trust and habit; a person must accustom themself to believe in God in every situation, whether it is revealed or hidden.

Difference Between Learning Fear of God and Other Studies, According to Ramchal

• The wise used to study fear, Talmud, and law but not morality because it was too simple for them.
• People who studied morality did not study fear because it was not for the common people.
• The wise ultimately did not study morality, and the common people did not study Torah.

Why Most Intellectuals Do Not Delve into Fear and Devotion

• Every wise person agreed that it was important but neglected the subject daily, claiming it was too simple for them.

Rav Kook's Emphasis on Deepening the Study of Faith Today

• Today's generation seeks to understand and receive explanations.
• Studying faith out of fear is not enough, and the generation seeks profound answers to every question.

The Flaw in Understanding "Security" and the Difference Between Faith and Security

• People think there is a good reality and a bad reality, and one must believe the good option will occur through God's security.
• A person does not know what the future consequences will be.
• Faith is a general view and law, while security is a person's view of themself and their actions.

Why Torah Learners Emerge into Bad Culture, According to Rav Kook

• Every person in Israel has a specific area in the Torah that suits them.
• If a person learns something unsuitable, they will feel internal resistance, potentially leading them away from religion.

Pillar of Faith

• Remembering the event at Mount Sinai, where God commanded to remember it for generations and teach it to our children.
• Believing in the days of the Messiah
• God is a leader.
• God has no image or body.
• God is the first in the world.
• God is one.
• Believing in the resurrection of the dead

The Wisdom of Prophecy, Signs and Wonders

• Attaining truth through intellect is possible but takes a long time. In the process, many may reach wrong conclusions or false beliefs.
• God sent prophecy, signs, and wonders.

The Greatest Kindness

• Participating in the burden and sorrow of the community.
• Identifying with the suffering of others
• Identifying with the suffering of an individual

Advantages of Prayer in Public According to Yehuda Halevi

• Public prayer benefits the entire community and does not harm individuals.
• If an individual's prayer is flawed or not focused, the community completes the prayer into one whole prayer.

Forming the "Inner Self"

• Adam listened to the snake’s counsel over his inner self.
• The "inner self" is created through increased holiness in an individual through righteous behavior.

Two Elements Building the Holiness of Israel, According to Rav Kook

• Virtue: Every Jew has a soul with an inner sacred power.
• Choice: Every Jew can choose whether to engage in Torah and commandments.
• The virtue of a person can be revealed only when they make the right choice.

How Rabbi Kook Encourages Educators

• Education is a slow internal process of revealing the soul, a divine mission, and a means to repair the world.
• This understanding can strengthen the spirit of educators and fill their work with deep meaning.

Service of God With Innocence

• Rabbeinu Bahya: It is obligatory to learn the obligation of the limbs and the obligation of the hearts because this constitutes the basis for the fulfillment of the commandments.
• Rabbi Nachman: To fulfill commandments without any inquiry

Rabbi Kook's Critique on Education

• In his generation, the power of thought had less influence, and people were led by fear or habit-based commandments.
• Today, teachers must see the inner selves , otherwise it will not resonate
• They must see the the learners internal beliefs and motives rather than external behaviors because the current generation demands answers and deep explanations.

Relevance of Rabbi Kook's Words Today

• Rabbi Kook's words are not relevant today, as students are not afraid of punishment and threatening them or teaching them to believe through fear will not help.
• Teaching students to love faith and study it through personal desire to explore and discover is more effective.

Explanation of Faith

• Faith is the language of trust and habit, and a person needs to accustom themself to believe in God, whether it is good or bad, revealed or hidden.

Faith and Trust

• According to Hazon Ish, one must believe that God will save us from trouble
• The standard of conduct must match faith through the commander's words.

Why the Midrash Repeated That Abraham Was "Sorry" During His Searches

• Abraham concluded there is a God who runs the world without us seeing him
• He divined this through outward observation and the operation of the intellect.

The Story and the Decision

• The King of Khazar had a dream where an angel told him his intentions were good, but his actions were not.
• Following the dream, he decided to go out and search for an act that the angel would approve of.

The Requirement of the Trait of Kindness

• The trait of kindness requires a person to do kindness to others and not to relate to things only for their own benefit.

The Suitable Way to Study

• The book is not meant for one to read new novelties, but to review and learn the simple things, to remember them and fulfill them
• It is important to repeat and review them, even though they are very simple.

The Sin of the First Man

• The sin that the first man committed was not listening to his inner self and instead listening to the snake
• He was punished for it.

Rabbi Kook’s Critique of Educators

• Educators are unable to look at the inwardness of the student and only come to teach external things unrelated to the person's inner self.

The Topic of Study and Why People Do Not Study It Much

• Because the wise were occupied with studying Torah, they neglected the study of morality and saw it as unimportant.

Importance of Morality According to Ramchal

• To invest effort in developing the field of one's traits because it is no less important than studying Torah

Drawbacks

• There is still much to fix regarding morality in our generation, and regarding faith, if one does not learn deeply according to the requirements of the generation, one will not be able to cope with the questions of our generation.